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THE JOINT

Mulvaney’s is an upscale New American cuisine restaurant in midtown Sacramento, CA. They specialize in having a local, farm to table inspired menu that changes nightly based on what is seasonally available from their nearby suppliers.

I first heard about Mulvaney’s last year when a friend found it through a random OpenTable search. He was looking for a nice restaurant to try for a special occasion and it turned out to be an amazing pick. Wonderful food, the best bartender, and the kind of staff that make you feel comfortable; like you’re part of the family. Some fine dining restaurants feel stuffy and a bit uptight while you’re trying to enjoy your meal. Every trip to Mulvaney’s feels like you still get the white tablecloth restaurant feel and service without the uncomfortable atmosphere like they’ll waive their fingers at you if you use the wrong fork for your salad. Since that first magical trip, my wife and I try to get back to Mulvaney’s every chance we can get.

THE BURGER

We usually eat at Mulvaney’s for dinner, but occasionally I like to head over for lunch when I want to treat myself. This trip was a triple treat: a lunch at Mulvaney’s, a mini date with my wife, and my birthday. The challenge with Mulvaney’s is that the menu changes daily, so although you know whatever is on the menu is going to be amazing, you’re just never sure which amazing dishes you’re going to get. I was crossing my fingers that they’d have a burger on the lunch menu and I’m happy to say my birthday wish was granted!

I ordered my bacon cheeseburger cooked medium and when the plate came out dripping with burger juice, it put a smile on my face. Often, when I order a burger “medium” at a restaurant, it usually comes out medium well (if not close to well done). This has happened so often at different restaurants that lately I’ve been ordering my burgers medium rare to make sure they come out at least medium. The burger from Mulvaney’s was cooked a perfect medium with a nice, pink, juicy center.

One of my personal pet peeves with burgers is a “flat patty”. I like my burger patties to have that hand formed, thick, not perfectly flat or round shape. The hamburger patty at Mulvaney’s fit all of those qualities. A nice thick serving of ground beef that was surrounded by a lightly toasted ciabatta bread bun sourced from The Bread Store, a local bakery here in town. They topped the burger with cheddar cheese, fresh lettuce, delicious pickled red onions (how come nobody told me about these before!) and one of their in house specialties: BACON. The pure beef flavor was evident in each bite and cheddar cheese oozed over the meat like a sandwich snuggie. Their special sauce is something called D2T sauce, and although they didn’t list the ingredients, I could see myself ordering a jar of the stuff to go.

I was so full from my first and second course that I didn’t have any room for a dessert. But true to Mulvaney’s fashion, knowing it was my birthday, Chris, our waiter, brought out a delectable piece of Ginger Elizabeth Chocolate with a gold leaf on top! I had a great spicy bloody mary, a top notch burger, and a lunch date with my wife. It was a perfect start to my birthday week (yeah, I take a week…what of it?)

THE VERDICT

The bacon cheeseburger from Mulvaney’s is winning. Plain and simple. It almost makes it extra special because you can’t just get it everyday. It’s one of those absence makes the heart grow fonder kind of burgers. If you’re lucky enough to catch the bacon cheeseburger on then Mulvaney’s lunch menu…get it. You won’t be disappointed.

If you see the bartender Dan while you’re there…ask for some Tedbasco sauce: he loves it when you do that ;)